


Make Me a Perfect Match

by Star_Going_Supernova



Series: Matters of the Heart [1]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: (pretty much because Lili was asking about him a while ago), (yes that is a reference to his Chapter 3 tape), Fluff, I've always had this little headcanon that Wally is a real gossip, M/M, Matchmaking, Norman's getting his creeper on, Overdramatic Employees are Nosy, POV Outsider, Sammy's like a shrug personified, and likes getting involved with all the studio's drama, woah I wrote Shawn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 17:22:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13128228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_Going_Supernova/pseuds/Star_Going_Supernova
Summary: He tugged his head animator against his side and, wearing a proud smile, said something to the stranger that made Henry give Joey a sharp look.“Oh my gosh,” Susie whispered gleefully. “He’s pretending Henry’s his boyfriend!”





	Make Me a Perfect Match

**Author's Note:**

  * For [imagination_tier](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagination_tier/gifts).



> You’ve done so much amazing art for me, and you’re one of my most faithful and consistent commenters— with mind-blowing long comments, too— so yeah, this is a gift for you. I’ve never written Henry/Joey before, but for you, my friend, I was more than willing to give it a try. I hope you enjoy this silliness. :)
> 
> (title from the song Matchmaker, Matchmaker)

Later, they could all pinpoint the moment it started if you asked them. It was a quiet moment, one which none of them were truly privy to, a background encounter in a larger scene. The type of moment that no one outside of the moment itself would ever notice.

Or at least, it would’ve gone unnoticed if Susie hadn’t dramatically gasped and tried to nudge Sammy’s arm, only to miss and smack his face instead. This, naturally, caught the entire table’s attention. 

“That guy who’s been starin’ at Joey since he went up there is making his move!” she whisper-yelled to their table. 

Wally perked right up. “The guy with the ‘come hither’ eyes?”

“Yeah, that one.”

Still rubbing his cheek, Sammy followed their gazes to the bar, where their boss was waiting for their drinks to be made. They were on their monthly outing, led by Joey and Henry— the latter of whom was always the designated driver. Their little get-togethers were limited to their close group, and they would pick a place to have dinner and drinks, and just chat like friends without involving the workplace. 

The guy-with-the-come-hither-eyes sidled up next to Joey and made a show of putting his arm around Joey’s waist.

“Ooh, point off right there,” Wally said, shaking his head. Joey didn’t like to be touched, with very, very few exceptions. 

The stranger leaned towards Joey. Joey, in return, leaned so far back, he practically left his own personal space. 

Norman tutted. “That dimwit needs to get a clue. Can’t he see that Joey ain’t interested?” 

From farther down the bar, Henry wove around some tables, heading in their direction from the restroom. They could see the moment Joey noticed Henry right as he was passing by, because Joey’s face lit up like it always did when he got a so-called good idea. He managed to twist around the stranger and snag Henry by the shoulders in a single, admittedly smooth move. 

He tugged his head animator against his side and, wearing a proud smile, said something to the stranger that made Henry give Joey a sharp look. 

“Oh my gosh,” Susie whispered gleefully. “He’s pretending Henry’s his boyfriend!” 

The stranger said something in response, and Henry turned to him with the eyes of a man who could reign in the wild impulses of Joey Drew. Obviously trying to be subtle about it, the stranger began inching backwards, a very uncomfortable smile taking residence on his face. 

Luckily for him, the bartender finished with their drinks, and Joey was able to cheerfully whisk both the loaded tray and Henry away before the stranger was reduced to a stammering puddle. 

“What was all that about?” Susie asked as she accepted her glass. 

Joey chuckled. “Just a desperate idiot who couldn’t take no for an answer. We had it taken care of.” He picked up the last drink on the tray, a mug filled to the brim, and frowned. “Is this coffee?” 

Henry leaned forward over his open sketchpad and carefully snatched it away. “I have to get these designs done tonight.”

With a long-suffering sign, Joey took his seat next to him. “Henry, that’s not healthy.” 

As if he expected someone to try and take it away, Henry clutched the mug to his chest. “I’ve pulled all-nighters before. It’s fine.” 

The whole incident was forgotten that night as Henry and Joey bickered, and the alcohol flowed, and good times were had. 

In fact, it wasn’t until three days later that Susie brought it up again. She, Sammy, Norman, and Shawn were gathered around a table at one end of what Joey fondly called their Idea Room. 

Henry called it the ‘I need to take pills before going in there with those people again, Joey, and don’t you dare try to stop me’ room. 

At the other end, out of earshot, Henry and Joey stood shoulder-to-shoulder facing a mess of thoughts scrawled over the paper that covered the wall like a canvas. Sketches, characters, random lines of dialogue, and some hastily drawn storyboards were spread out before them, ripe for the choosing. 

But that wasn’t what was on Susie’s mind. “Y’know,” she said, “I think they’d actually be a pretty cute couple.” 

Shawn gave her a funny look. “Where’d that idea come from?”

“Oh, you were out sick that day, weren’t you?” Susie eagerly recounted the whole incident at the bar. “Don’t you think they look good together?”

The four of them stared at the two men’s backs. 

Sammy took a drag of his cigarette. “I dunno. They’re pretty opposite to me.” 

Norman shrugged. “Yeah, though I suppose that makes them good foils for each other.” 

Shawn squinted across the room. “Henry looks kinda like a homeless man when he’s standin’ next to Joey.”

With a huff, Susie shook her head. “Boys,” she said, “as _romantic_ as all that is, really, please look past their height difference and Henry’s perpetual bedhead and just watch them.” 

As though scripted, Henry nudged Joey’s shoulder and stepped forward a bit, pointing at a few different concepts before spinning around to hunch over the nearest desk. After a moment of looking at what Henry had gestured at, Joey followed after him, nearly looming over the animator’s shoulder as he worked. 

Not thirty seconds passed before Henry twisted to look up at Joey, who released a booming laugh and ruffled Henry’s hair. 

Susie looked back at her companions expectantly. 

“Okay,” Shawn said, nodding slowly. “I can see it.” 

They watched as Joey flailed his arms around, engaged in whatever had caught his attention. Henry just shook his head, watching his friend with a small, fond smile on his face.

Sammy fake gagged. “Gosh, that’s disgusting. He looks like he might actually _like_ Drew.” 

Pleased, Susie smiled. “I’m glad you see reason. But their potential just makes it all the more tragic, since they aren’t together.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “But that’s okay, because it just means that we get to—”

Closing his eyes, Sammy sank down in his chair. “ _Please_ don’t say—”

“—play matchmaker!” Susie smacked him. “Don’t be such a Debbie Downer.” 

All four of them startled when the door behind them banged open and Wally tripped in, breathing heavily. “I heard someone say matchmaker, what’s going on, who needs matchmaking?”

Susie squealed in excitement as Norman jabbed a thumb in Joey and Henry’s direction and said, “These two train-wrecks.”

They turned back to face them. Henry was leaning backwards against the edge of the desk now, smirking slightly with his head tilted down a fraction, with Joey standing a few feet in front of him, strangely still for a man who could never seem to stop moving. Neither were speaking. They were just staring at each other. 

“Y’know, if this were a cartoon,” Norman absently continued, “Henry would have a whole bunch’a hearts circling his head right about now. Do you think they’ve forgotten they’re not alone?” 

“Seriously though. I mean, wow, those are some ‘come hither’ eyes. That guy from the bar could use some lessons from Henry. He’s obviously pining hardcore,” Wally said. 

Sammy snorted. “As if. A man who’s as married to his work as Henry can’t be pining for anything other than a smooth animation sequence. If anyone’s pining, it’s Drew.”

“Sorry, guys, but I gotta agree with Sammy on this one,” Shawn said. “Joey’s always wantin’ Henry’s attention, and everyone knows Henry’s the only one allowed to touch Joey without gettin’ a nasty look.” 

“Well, I think you’re _all_ wrong. They’re both pining, but because of Henry’s dedication to his work and general social awkwardness, and Joey’s insecurities about losing the only person that means anything to him, neither will ever confess their feelings, and they’ll go on like this forever. Just look at them, in their own little world over there.” She sighed dreamily, only snapping out of it when Norman cleared his throat.

“Have you been watching soap operas again?” he asked, eyeing her warily. “Because, Susie, we’ve already had two interventions about that.”

“Of course not! I promised I wouldn’t go back to that, didn’t I?” She glared at their dubious looks. “Oh, all right. I might’ve watched one or two. Or seven.” Without warning, she slammed her palms down on the table, making the four men jump. “That doesn’t matter! What matters is that we get those two clueless dorks together.” 

“Easy enough in theory,” Sammy said, breathing smoke into the air. “But what exactly do you propose we do?” 

“I say we just watch them for a few days, secretly,” Norman suggested. “Keep our eyes peeled for the areas where they could use a little outside help.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Susie said, rising from her seat. “We’ll meet back here on Friday morning. Joey and Henry aren’t supposed to be coming in till mid-afternoon, what with that meeting they’ve got. We can discuss our findings then.” 

• • • • •

Susie, despite arriving early at the studio, was the last one of the five to gather in the Idea Room. The four men were already seated at the round table closest to the wall covered with paper, Shawn, then Norman, with the chair closest to her empty, and then Wally, and Sammy, leaving the three seats directly facing the board vacant. 

“All right, boys, let’s see what we’ve got. We’ll make a list, and proceed from there. Who wants to go first?” she asked, picking up a marker.

“Well,” Shawn started, “I saw them walkin’ to Joey’s car the other day, and they were talkin’ and laughin’ and shovin’ each other around. And Joey made a big show of openin’ the door for Henry, and it even looked like he wanted to help him in.”

Susie scribbled it all down. “Very nicely done, Shawn, we’re off to a good start.”

“Just yesterday,” Norman said once she finished writing, “I got a glimpse of them in one of the screening rooms. It was still early, so I think they thought they were alone. Joey was sittin’ with his head in his hands, groaning about somethin’ or other, and Henry was standing behind him with his hands on Joey’s shoulders.”

With a scoff, Sammy waved his hand in dismissal. “That doesn’t mean—”

“Hey, I ain’t done yet! I kept watching, because it felt like a real private sorta scene.”

Norman either ignored or didn’t notice the way his friends shook their heads at his mixed-up logic. 

“And it took me a minute, but then I saw that Henry wasn’t just standin’ there. He was rubbing Joey’s shoulders and humming to him.”

“Aww,” Susie said with a dopey smile. She added those details to the list. “What about you, Sammy?”

He shrugged. “Walked into Joey’s office and found him sitting next to Henry on the couch, going over some papers.”

Wally frowned. “That… that doesn’t sound unusual.” 

Sammy blew a cloud of smoke into the air. “Yeah, well, Henry was layin’ down with Joey’s jacket laid over him, sleeping. Head on Joey’s leg and everything.” He tapped the table contemplatively. “Although, given how many empty mugs were on the floor, it’s entirely possible he drank himself into one of his coffee-comas.”

After considering it, Susie turned to add it to the paper. “It counts either way. Besides, it’s not like Henry allows himself to coffee overload around just anyone.” 

“Joey even shushed me when I walked in,” Sammy muttered. 

Rolling her eyes, Susie turned to Wally. “What about you?” 

“Aw, you’re not gonna believe this!” Wally said, leaning forward in his seat, leg jiggling excitedly. “I know I said Henry’s the one pining, but I really think you’re on to something, Susie, with it being ’em both. I overheard Joey asking Grant about an account he set aside for— and these were his exact words— _his special surprise for Henry_.” 

Susie squealed and bounced up to the table, gracefully sliding into the empty chair between Wally and Norman. “You’re sure that’s what he said?” 

“Yep!”

“Golly, what if it’s a ring? How romantic!”

Norman patted her on the shoulder. “You skipped the part where we have to get them to start dating first.”

She waved her hand at him. “Semantics. A girl can dream, can’t she?” Twirling the marker around in her fingers, she leaned over the table. “Anyway, as for what I saw… y’know how Henry gets when he’s coming up with new ideas, and he’s in his own little world, rambling on too fast for anyone normal to actually keep up, and you could probably set him on fire and he wouldn’t notice?”

They all nodded. It wasn’t uncommon to see Henry talking to himself, either near a recorder to catch everything he was saying, or wandering around with either Joey or an intern— depending on how busy Joey was— following after him, trying to keep the microphone near his face. 

“Well, he was doing that, just talkin’ about who-knows-what at the speed of light, and Joey was just nodding along and making all sorts of little comments that Henry didn’t actually hear, and he was just standing there in front of Henry, fixing his shirt and bowtie. And he was smiling, not his big smile that makes everyone worried about what’s going through his head, but this little one, and I swear, I ain’t never seen Joey look so fond.” Susie sighed dreamily and rested her chin in her palm. “I wish I had a man who looked at me like that.” 

Sammy inhaled his cigarette smoke and started coughing, his tipped-back chair slamming down onto all four legs as he ripped his gaze away from her. 

Norman smothered a smile into his fist. He’d let Sammy delude himself for a little while longer. 

“There you are!” 

Each crying out in surprise, the five of them whirled to face the door, where Joey had somehow materialized, Henry just behind him.

“Good, you’re all here,” Joey said, striding in and taking the seat next to Sammy. Henry trailed after him and settled down beside him, across from Susie. 

Without much pause, Joey continued, “We got done with the meeting early, and we wanted your opinion on this one scene in the next episode, so we thought we’d swing by before heading to lunch like we planned.” 

In complete contrast to Joey’s obliviousness, Henry immediately squinted at the board. Susie casually rolled the marker in front of Wally. 

“What,” he spoke over Joey, who didn’t even complain about the interruption, “is that?” 

Busted. After exchanging totally useless glances at one another, all five of them started talking at once, trying to explain the situation without making it sound too bad. 

By the time they simultaneously fell silent, there was no telling what Henry and Joey had gotten from the surround-sound word vomit. 

Clearing her throat, Susie added, “And, uh, that’s why we think you two are totally pining for each other.” 

They waited for either Henry or Joey to respond somehow. 

Joey was the first to crack, throwing his head back with laughter and actually falling out of his chair in the process. 

Appalled, Susie gasped. “Joey! There’s no reason to be so mean about it if you don’t like Henry that way!” 

Wheezing, Joey repeatedly smacked Henry’s leg. “They— they think we have _crushes_ on each other.” 

Henry rolled his eyes, but there was no mistaking the fond smile on his face. “I should hope we do. We _have_ been dating for several years now.” 

“ _What?!”_ the five matchmakers cried as one.

“Yeah, Joey and I have—” Henry stopped and blinked at them. “Wait. Did… did it really never occur to you that we were already together?”

They all spluttered, sending Joey back into hysterics. 

Looking very concerned, Henry said slowly, “We’ve been living together since before we opened the studio. We go on twice weekly lunch dates and out to dinner every Friday night. I fall asleep on Joey all the time. And I’m sure there were other signs, but those are the ones that stand out. How did none of you realize?” 

Ignoring the hiccuping breaths coming from the floor, the five employees stared at him. 

Shawn finally said, “You mean to tell me this whole thing was nothin’ but a waste’a time? I feel like punchin’ someone right now.” 

As though summoned, Joey popped up to stand next to Henry, a hand on his shoulder, glaring at Shawn. “There will be no punching of anyone, especially not Henry.” 

Ignoring Joey, Norman said, “Waste of time or not, Henry’s right. How did we not notice?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s great, we’re all oblivious,” Susie waved him off, looking back and forth between Joey and Henry. “What I wanna know is how you even got together. Neither of you seem like the type to confess on a whim.”

Joey and Henry exchanged an in-the-know sort of smile. “It actually wasn’t either of us. During the third Christmas I spent at the Ross’s, Henry’s parents put mistletoe in all the doorways throughout the entire house.”

Pointing at Henry, Wally asked, “Your _parents_ are the ones who— seriously?” 

Clearing his throat, Henry shrugged, the faintest hint of a blush tinting his cheeks. “They, uh, thought we looked cute together. And, to be fair to them, my ma sat me down and tried to talk to me about us— shut up, Joey— but I pretended I had no idea what she meant.” 

Joey grinned. “So they took matters into their own hands,” he said. “And when we still didn’t cooperate, they locked us outside in the freezing cold and chanted ‘kiss, kiss’ at us and refused to let us back in until we did.” 

Their five employees gaped at them.

Choking slightly, Sammy said to Henry, “I need to meet your parents.” 

“No, absolutely not. The stories _alone_ are just— no, haha, never. Not while I’m still alive.” 

“Please, I need to shake their hands. That was devious.”

“It really wasn’t—” Henry cut himself off. His eyes flicked from Sammy to Susie and back. Something like a mischievous, nearly malicious, grin began to grow across his face. “Y’know what, that actually sounds like a great idea. We’ll have the whole gang over for a little party of something. I talk about everyone here at the studio a lot, and I’m sure they’d be real eager to meet ya.” 

Joey snickered, turning it into a cough when Sammy glared suspiciously at him. 

Henry stood. “Well,” he said, “if that’s all, then I have some storyboards to finish up, and you—” he gave Joey a stern look— “need to finish your paperwork, since you refused to do so yesterday.”

“Wait,” Norman stopped them. “If you two were actually together, what did Henry look all, I dunno, indignant about back at the bar?”

Joey grinned. “He just gets a bit shy when I compliment his as—”

Henry snapped his head to the side to glare at Joey, who promptly choked on his own words. 

“Art! His art, when I compliment his art.”

Sammy snorted. “Nice save there, Drew,” he said. 

Rolling his eyes, but smiling just the slightest bit, Henry bumped Joey’s shoulder with his own as he stepped past him towards the door.

Just as Joey started to follow him, Wally straightened in his seat. “Ooh, does that mean the special surprise for Henry that you mentioned to Grant really is a ring?” he asked. 

Both Joey and Henry froze. Sammy leaned over and smacked Wally over the head as Henry slowly turned back to face a cringing Joey. 

“You idiot,” Sammy whispered at Wally.

Eyes narrowed, Henry pointed threateningly at Joey. “That _special surprise_ better not be what I think it is.”

Backing up with his hands raised in an attempt to soothe— a truthfully futile effort, they all knew— Joey laughed nervously. “Now, Henry, let’s stay calm about this—”

“Joey Drew,” Henry hissed, advancing on him, “we’ve had this conversation before. You know exactly what my thoughts are on that _Machine_.” 

“Yeah, I know, but— but listen, I really think it could work—”

Shawn leaned closer to Norman and whispered, “What machine are they talkin’ about?”

“No idea,” Norman said. 

Whatever it was, Henry had clearly had enough of it. “If we go home tonight and I find more ritual books under the bed—”

 _More_ , Susie silently mouthed, looking at Sammy with wide eyes.

“—then you’re sleeping on the couch for a week!” Henry spun on his heel and headed for the door.

With a yelp, Joey lunged after him. “Please, not the couch! Look, what if I try to find a way to do it without demonic intervention, huh? Would that— Henry, c’mon, please just— I promise not to open another portal to hell—”

The five of them watched the two men leave, Joey’s pleading gradually fading away as they walked off. 

“Y’know,” Norman finally said, breaking the awed— and somewhat concerned— silence. “I can’t believe their bickering didn’t tip us off. After all, they’ve always fought like an old married couple.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was a lot of fun to write, so let me know if there’s anything else you’d want to see with them (that goes for anybody, I suppose). And, just to be clear, this isn’t related to any of my AUs, though I kind of imagined the backstory for Henry and Joey to be similar to in The Art of Being Alive, just in terms of them meeting in college and Henry dragging Joey home for Christmas, only everything's happy here, so Joey doesn't go crazy or whatever.


End file.
